Sympathy
by shingekinorivaille
Summary: "Don't. I don't need your sympathy." Rule 63 Eren.


**Sympathy**

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** This is a sequel to Physical, but you don't need to read that to understand this. This takes place pretty much right after Jean asks Eren if his ability is really worth everyone risking their lives.**

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The group piles out through the door but Mikasa and Armin linger for a moment. Eren tells them to go ahead without her, she'll catch up later. Mikasa almost protests, but Armin drags her off before she has the chance. Eren watches them go, waiting for a full minute after the door closes to look at Jean.

"Look," she says, "the past few weeks have been absolute _hell_ for me. I don't need you adding to it. I know not everyone is as ready as Mikasa to throw their life on the line for me. I know you don't trust me anymore. Honestly? I don't really trust myself either. I _don't _remember trying to kill Mikasa. I didn't know until my trial. I wouldn't blame any of you if you stayed away from me. I wish I could stay away from me." She pauses, trying to steady her breathing. "I don't know how to control this titan shifting stuff yet. It's as new to me as the rest of you. I'm not going to lie and say I have it under control because I don't. And everyone knows that. I accidently transformed trying to pick up a _spoon_," she lets out a bitter laugh, "How ridiculous it that? I don't need you to draw attention to something that's already the main focus."

Jean steps forward and begins to stutter out an apology, but she stops him.

"Don't. I don't need your sympathy."

He stands there and studies her. She's giving him a hard glare, but it's nothing like it used to be. She looks tired and worn; she almost reminds him of a children's toy that had been thrown around and played with too much and ends up broken. And he doesn't know how to handle that. He was never the greatest when it came to emotions in the first place, and seeing Eren like this throws him off.

"Eren."

"What?" she snaps, rubbing at one of her eyes.

He continues towards her and wipes away the freely falling tears with his thumb. "I'm sorry."

"I told you not to apologize," she chokes out, looking anywhere but Jean.

"But I am."

"You don't need to."

"Yes I do."

She finally looks up at him, shifting slightly under his gaze, and then latches herself onto him, pressing her face into his chest. He wraps his arms around her, running his fingers through her hair and telling her comforting things in French. The sobs wrack throughout her entire body, only muffled by his new scouting legion cloak he'd received earlier that day.

Eventually she calms down, simply leaning into him. She listens intently to his heartbeat and relaxes against the rise and fall of his chest.

"Eren?" he asks quietly. She doesn't answer. Jean pulls away from her slightly and notices she fell asleep. _How does anyone even fall asleep standing up? _he wonders, picking her up bridal style.

He makes his way back to the castle in near darkness, save for the lanterns scattered here and there. He walks slower than usual in an attempt not to wake her or drop her. For a moment he wonders what would happen if he did drop her. Would she turn into a titan? Or did something else have to cause it? He isn't really sure. She _did_ say she turned into a titan when reaching for a spoon, of all things. He'll ask her sometime, maybe when the topic isn't so sensitive to her.

Eren mumbles something in her sleep. He doesn't catch what she says, but he could tell it was in German.

He enters the castle and is unsure of where to go from there. He doesn't know where her room is and he doesn't see anyone around to ask. He's not even familiar enough with the castle to know where he's going to be sleeping. He follows the strong scent of tea right into the kitchen.

Corporal Levi's cold eyes sweep him over when he enters the room. His eyes land on Eren. "Tch, brat," he says under his breath, but loud enough for Jean to hear what he says.

The Corporal sets his tea on the table. Jean is still amazed at how short he is. It's almost amusing, really, but he's not going to say anything about it to the Corporal's face.

"Follow me," he says, beginning to lead him through the castle. Jean struggles to keep up with Corporal Levi. It's not like Eren weighed a lot; she was actually much lighter than he expected, but he didn't want to wake her up. It was obvious that she needed sleep.

After several staircases and long, winding hallways, the Corporal stops. He opens a door and steps inside, Jean following after. He frowns. It's basically a cage.

He knows they don't trust her, but is keeping her in a jail cell necessary? The bed doesn't even look like a bed, but more so a slab of wood sticking out of the wall with a pillow and a few blankets. There were even chains to keep her restrained. He glances at the Corporal in horror, but lucky for him his superior doesn't notice.

Instead, he turns and walks past Jean. "Close the door when you leave."

"Yes sir," he says, walking through the small cell's door. He lays Eren gently on the bed. He moves to stand, but she's still clinging to him in her sleep. He gently tugs them away and pulls one of the blankets over her. She tugs the blanket closer to her, having it take the place of Jean. He watches her for a moment before bending down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. He feels like a sappy romantic, but he can't help it. "Good night, Eren."

When he's at the door, he hears a soft, "'Night, Jean."

He pauses, glancing back at her. She's sitting up and yawning. "Thanks. For tonight."

"It's not a problem."

"What about a proper good night kiss?" she asks.

"Next time," he replies.

The door closes quietly behind him.

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**I really like Jean and rule 63 Eren okay. Shush. **


End file.
